Well. obviously, not all Denny's in America are like that, maybe a tiny fraction are. Most are quiet, good for late night food, and over the years, never really had any issues like that. Violations - a lot of places have that. They have to post it up, or close down until they get the violations fixed.
Now, the news crew. News crew do NOT have a right to enter private property without permission, and when told by the manager or the one in charge that day to get out, they need to get out. They can't keep interrogating nor filming in there. So if they refuse, you call the police and get them out. News crew can't complain as they are now trespassing on private property.